By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

For nearly a decade, the first Western Athletic Conference road trip(s) of the baseball season has usually marked the unofficial beginning of the end for the University of Hawai'i each year.

On far-off diamonds somewhere — most recently in Houston and Ruston, La., but it didn't really seem to matter where — the Rainbows' weaknesses would be exposed and thus would begin the downward spiral.

But a refreshing change is unfolding this year. Not only have the Rainbows not come limping home with a losing record, the way they went about holding their own at 3-3 is grounds for considerable optimism.

To put their split of games at Rice and Louisiana Tech into perspective, it is the first time since 1996 that the Rainbows have something other than a losing record to show for their first six conference road games.

And, for want of another base hit or two at defending national champion Rice or in the extra-inning loss to Tech, the Rainbows could have — and probably should have — come home 4-2.

Still, the encouraging thing is that nowhere were the Rainbows out of it, something that couldn't always be said in years past where they were haunted by a blowout or two.

But what the Rainbows can really hang their caps and, indeed, their hopes for the rest of the season on is the eye-opening pitching of this past week.

Anytime a UH team can go on the road for six games and manage a 3.27 earned run average, it is something to write home about. In the case of these Rainbows, the numbers underlined a week's worth of solid starting pitching and the growing dependability of the bullpen.

The starters — Ricky Bauer, Stephen Bryant and Clary Carlsen — contributed three complete games while the bullpen, except for a brief walk on the wild side at Tech, held up its end. The emergence of Darrell Fisher-baugh, who KKEA sportscaster Don Robbs has compared with Bryan Duquette (1980-'82) in terms of closer potential as a freshman, is a most encouraging development.

If the Rainbows can continue to get something similar from their pitching here on out now that the bulk of conference play will be at pitching-friendly Les Murakami Stadium, it could make for an interesting season.

For here they are this weekend against San Jose State almost smack dab at the midway point of a 56-game season at 17-10 (3-3 WAC) and have 17 of their next 20 games (18 of 21 if the Hawai'i Pacific game is rescheduled) in Manoa. Not a bad position to be in at all.

For the first time in a long time, the Rainbows have come home from the first conference road trip with a lot to look forward to instead of to forget.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.